Thanks, Mom
by cy-ing
Summary: Pepper Potts takes care of them, so she really isn't all that surprised. Six times ones of the Avengers called her Mom and the events leading up to the moment. Chapter three: Natasha
1. Tony

_Hello! Hope you enjoy._

**Chapter One: Tony**

Virginia "Pepper" Potts sighed heavily, day two of her new job as personal assistant and she was convinced that she was just a glorified babysitter, she scanned the floor (amended: What _used_ to be a floor) for Tony Stark- her boss, and only that, than-you-very-much. Her black stilettos clacked sharply on the marble floor as she waded expertly through a sea of trash, drunken guests (which included grabby men) and food. The party was long over and she was exhausted, but she was worried about Mr. Stark (and the amount of overtime to pay the Stark Industry security guards currently escorting out the guests) who was currently sprawled on the ground grinning up at her.

"Heya Pep!" Mr. Stark chirps "Couldn't wait to see me huh?" he punctuates his question with a flirtatious wink and she instinctively pulls her form fitting pencil skirt down a little more. Mr. Stark doesn't miss the action and his grin grows wider.

"Mr. Stark, do I have to remind you that you have three meetings tomorrow? The first starts at-" Pepper stops for a moment to help him onto his feet "…ten in the morning?" Mr. Stark stumbles into her while trying to find his footing and he giggles a little at her discomfort.

"Who's this Mr. Stark?" he slurs his words a little, wobbling a bit "My name is Tony!"

"That's not professional, Mr. Stark"

"Who're ya talking to Pep? I'm the only one here! Other than you and the security- oh! One of them must be…" he turns to the nearest guard "Are you Mr. Stark?" The man turns sharply from the woman he's trying to get out the door.

"But. Sir. I. You…?" he mumbles in confusion and Mr. Stark smirks in amusement

"TONY!" Pepper yells, giving up

"Yeeeeeees?" said man asks, grinning slowly. Pepper catches the glint in his eye and realizes that he's not as drunk as she thinks he is.

"You are going to bed right now." The red head says between grit teeth "You have three _very_ important meetings tomorrow and you will not miss them because you were up all night."

"I'm not going to bed," a husky voice this time, he most likely figured out the exact moment she caught his act, "unless you come with me" Tony steps closer to her, snaking his arms around her waist to pull her close, he smirks seductively and he notes how her breathing speeds up as she catches the scent of his cologne and her pupils dilate. He lets out a low chuckle and the alcohol in his breath snaps Pepper right out of the haze she was in, turning red with embarrassment and furiously tearing out of his arms.

"Tony," she breathes angrily "you are going to bed. Alone"

"But P-" Tony switches on a pout and onto another tactic "mooooooom" Pepper grabs his suit sleeve and turns on her heels, pulling him to the elevator, only releasing him when the doors are safely shut and they are moving towards his bedroom floor.

Tony observes the red head that is pointedly ignoring him- he's impressed to say the least, not many woman get over him that fast, especially not the single ones (he's checked to make sure Pepper was single- tabloids are especially vicious with the possibility of cheaters- and he just doesn't have the time to deal with that while he's trying to avoid all those pesky meetings). He decides that chasing her away would be a waste, but she _was _really fun to get a reaction out of. Right now though, the world is spinning a little and- hey! Why are there two Peppers?

The door dings as it slid open and Pepper grabs Tony's sleeve again, pulling him towards his room. He grumbles in protest and she has to stop a few times because he starts tripping over his own feet. As they are about to pass the kitchen, Pepper notices how quiet her boss has been and deposits him into a chair.

"Are you okay?" She asks warily. He blinks blearily back at her (which Pep should he be looking at?)

"Yuhumph." He replies (wait, that's not how his mouth is supposed to work…). A confused look passes both their faces and they both stare at each other for a moment (well. Tony tries to, but really, the two of them look the same) before Pepper moves to grab a bottle of water and pain killers. She hauls him to his feet and he leans heavily against her as they resume their slow trek to his room. The silence is filled with a cadence of dragging feet, clicking shoes and rattling pills before coming to a halt with the hollow sound of Tony kicking his bed and collapsing in it a second later with a grunt. Pepper steadies herself, getting use to the lack of weight on her shoulder, and puts a hand on Tony's forehead.

"Tony, you really should take better care of yourself, you're running a low fever." she mummers softly while making sure he's comfortable (she will _not_ call it tucking him in. Nope. It's just… Similar, that's all) "The pills are on your nightstand, next to the water. Make sure you take them when you wake up tomorrow." His eyelids droop sleepily as his eyes try to follow her form bustling around his room pressing on controls here and there "Your curtains are set to open at nine, but I'll be downstairs around eight if you need anything." Pepper walks back to the head of his bed "Good night, Tony." And maybe it's because she's really tired or because his sleepy eyes make him look like a toddler, but she ruffles his hair.

"Hng…" Tony mumbles, eyes sliding shut "Thanks, Mom"

(Pepper Potts is smiling as she shuts the door)

_Whoa! You've reached the end of Chapter one!_

_[INSERT A REQUEST FOR REVIEWS HERE]_

_Quick question for anyone that is good at grammar and such (because I, for one, am terrible with grammar): Am I allowed to change tenses like I did in the beginning of the chapter? I can't quite remember…_

_And feel free to request whoever comes up next! I'm feeling Bruce. The exception is that Clint has to be before Natasha (Clintasha shipper here!)_


	2. Clint

_Hello again! Thanks for the reviews (Harm Marie, johncorn, Guest, The13thGirlWithoutASoul and viridianaln9) =]. Sorry for the wait, I started on Bruce but ran into a block._

_Hope you enjoy!_

**Chapter Two: Clint**

Four meetings is a normal day for Pepper. Today, however, has consisted of four meetings (two in California and two in New York) and a press conference that is unfortunately focused more on her relationship then the new Stark Industry technology. She hasn't caught a break in weeks and she can't help herself from releasing a sigh of relief as she steps into the Tower and walks briskly to the elevator after greeting the guards and receptionists.

"Welcome home, Ms. Potts," Jarvis greets as the elevator doors slides shut

"Hello, Jarvis" Pepper smiles while standing her luggage bag up "Can you give me an update on where everyone is?"

"Mr. Stark is with Doctor Banner and Captain Rogers in the Common Floor kitchen," Jarvis reports immediately "Thor is with Doctor Foster on vacation in Mr. Stark's home in Vienna. Ms. Romanoff has been on a long-term mission in Siberia and Mr. Barton has hidden himself from my sensors." Pepper frowns, Tony in the kitchen is slightly worrying, but Bruce and Steve have proven to be very good Stark-sitters in the months that they've been living with Tony. She isn't very surprised that Clint isn't with the team, because he tends to practice at night, but she's a little concerned that Jarvis can't get a read on him.

"Bring me up to the Common Floor, please" Pepper says as she leans against the wall and takes off her heels. The elevator dings as it reaches the Common Floor and the elevator doors slide open. She hears the pounding of feet and a shout that faintly resembles "Pepper" and "Be careful, Tony!" before Tony hurtles into view, beaming at her. Pepper squeaks when he picks her up bridal style and kisses her while spinning around.

"Hi Pep," Tony grins setting her down and taking her shoes from her "I missed you. Bruce and Steve are fun, but they won't kiss me. Not that I'd let either of them, of course." Pepper laughs and removes her luggage bag from the elevator.

"I certainly hope not, or I'd have to have a few words with them," Pepper replies "and I missed you too Tony." Tony then proceeds to pull her into the kitchen, where she is greeted by the sight of Bruce cleaning up glass and Steve setting plastic cups on the glass dining table.

"What happened?!" Tony exclaims. Steve and Bruce turn simultaneously to give Tony an exasperated look, but it's Steve that speaks up.

"I told you we should have used plastic cups Tony, precisely because we all knew you would end up knock _something_ over in your excitement." Steve turns his attention away from Tony who is about to start babbling "Welcome home, Pepper" Bruce waves with a sheepish expression when Steve greets her and clears his throat softly.

"Uhm. Well I- I mean _we_ made you food." He pauses, contemplating something "Well Tony and Steve tried to, but I don't think you really want to eat what they made." Twin glares settle on him and Pepper notices two plates of burnt…. Meat? Food? Placed next to a platter of fried rice. "We haven't eaten yet," he adds "it would be very nice if you joined us" Bruce gives Tony and Steve a look and they quickly escort her to her seat and soon the four and eating and chatting amicably. Bruce and Tony debate if political science is really a science while Steve and Pepper trade stories about themselves that Bruce (who has lived with Pepper and Tony longer than all of the team) and Tony already know about. When they finish dinner, Steve and Bruce start to clean up the table and Tony pulls Pepper's legs onto his lap in order to give her foot a massage.

"So," Pepper says when Bruce and Steve settle back into their seats "do you guys know if Clint's in his room, I want to go say hello before I turn in for the night." The three men still and look at each other, the room gains a slight tension.

"Well…" Tony hesitates "Since Natashalie has gone on her mission he hasn't exactly come out of hiding."

"We've each found him," Steve adds "but he's… Aggressive, when we try to get him to join us."

"We've been feeding him," Bruce says "we leave the food outside of his door. Every time we find him he hides somewhere else. We can't find him anymore."

"Did any of you guys try to talk to him when you found him?" Pepper questions while sliding her legs off of Tony's lap.

"I did." Steve says grimacing "He got angry and threw me down the stairs." Pepper stands up, drawing the attention of the room to her.

"I'll go talk to him" she says softly. Tony grabs her wrist and the two stare at each other intensely. Bruce and Steve watch their silent exchange in fascination, Pepper and Tony's eyes flash at each other angrily before Tony's demeanor softens and Pepper drops a chaste kiss on his lips. Bruce and Steve look away and hear Tony mumble "fine" and Pepper walking away.

OOO

Pepper finds Clint on the roof an hour later. She's insanely grateful that she's wearing dress pants and is used to high and unsteady heels, because she's positive that walking on the beams she had to past to get here would have turned out very badly otherwise. Pepper almost misses Clint, who is clad in all black and blending in with the night sky, the first look around. He is hanging off the roof's railing, legs hooked on the middle rail, feet pointing in her direction.

"Clint?" Pepper's voice is cautious as she approaches the rail to stare at the upside-down archer whose gaze is focused on the city below them. "Clint?" she tries again. This time he turns his head to look at her.

"Hello." His eyes are carefully blank- she knows that look, Tony does it every time he's upset and doesn't want to talk about it. Pepper stares back at him, giving him her special "I'm- not- stupid" look and he responds by giving her a glare of denial.

"I'm not going to leave then." Pepper states, turning up her glare. Clint turns his gaze to the city and Pepper sighs. She sits down next to him, resting her forehead on the upper railing, holding on lightly to the lower rails and dangles her legs off of the roof (near his head, as a visible confirmation that she's there).

Clint almost flinches when Pepper's (bare) feet swing close to his face, a quick glance at her tells him that she's not trying to get his attention and is just looking out at the city. It's been forty minutes and fifty-two seconds, and she's really not leaving. He slowly bends his upper body up, looping his arms around the cool railing and resting his chin on the upper rail. Pepper looks at him but only smiles slightly.

"Why are you here?" He asks

"Because you're up here" She replies easily

"You should go to sleep"

"You should eat dinner"

"Why are you _really_ up here?" Clint's storm-grey eyes narrow at her suspiciously

"We're worried about you, Clint." Pepper says frowning "Steve, Bruce, Tony and I."

"I can take care of myself."

"I didn't say you couldn't," Pepper sighs "Clint, please tell me what's wrong." Clint clenches his jaw tightly and examines the woman in front of him. He can tell that she's been up for close to twenty-four hours by the smudges underneath her eyes, running around a lot by the blisters on her feet, and he knows she's stubborn- mostly by the way he's seen her interact with Tony and sometimes Natasha.

"How did you find me?" He asks instead. She gives him an exasperated look.

"It was a gut feeling." She responds. Then her lips twitch. "Plus, I've been here before. There used to be stairs and a door up to this roof." She turning her gaze towards a pile of rubble, eyes clouding with what had to be a bad memory.

"What happened?" At Clint's question, Pepper looks at him again, her eyes closed off, hard and piercing.

"A story for a story," She bargains, ever the business woman "and not just any story, what has been bothering you." Clint could see her reading his body language "It's about Tony before any of," she waves her hands while turning around so she can sit in with her legs crossed and lean against the rails "this; Superheroes, avengers, Iron Man."

"Fine." Clint acquiesces taking a deep breath and getting off the railing to imitate her position.

"Well," Pepper starts looking at the sky "Before… Iron Man. Tony was- well he was an alcoholic. And a party-boy. And play boy. He used to throw giant parties where he'd get wasted and Rhodey or I would have to get him to make sure nothing bad happened. Usually we were lucky. No damage. No stomach pumping. But this time… This time he had come up here after one of his parties and he was drunk and still drinking. Rhodey and I had followed him up and were just about to get him to go down the stairs when he pushed us away from the stairs." Pepper pauses looking at Clint with a look of pain "There was a bomb, Clint. Even drunk, his mind works faster than ours and he pushed us out of the way as it detonated. The explosion combined with Tony's shove had Rhodey and me on the ground. This entrance had completely collapsed and we were on the roof for three hours before a helicopter came to get us. Jarvis kept us updated the whole time. He told us that Tony was thrown down the stairs and had broken ribs, a concussion, burns and alcohol poisoning. Jarvis said he almost didn't make it to the hospital and is broken ribs complicated the process of pumping his stomach." Pepper starts to look angry "The most frustrating part of the whole incident is that we never found out who did it. And the police never bothered to look. Assassination attempts on Tony happened once in a while and they just brush it off as another failed attempt. No _death_ no foul." She finishes bitterly giving him an expression that clearly says "your turn." Clint sighs in resignation and folds his arms.

"Natasha was sent out for a mission in Siberia." Clint says watching as Pepper nods slowly "Most of it is classified, but the part that matters is that it is listed as a Black mission- potential suicide mission. We've done them _together_ before, and have come out on top every time, but this time…" Clint's hands ball up and Pepper sees his nails biting into his palms "I begged her not to go. We've lost five agents to this mission in the past year and I couldn't lose her too. So when she wouldn't listen to me, I… I told her I loved her. It was a stupid move. She hates sentiment. But if she's not coming back… I just wanted her to know." Pepper puts a comforting hand on his shoulder and he takes a shaky breath "She looked so angry. Wouldn't even talk to me after that. Just left."

"Clint," Pepper says beseechingly "you can't just assume she's angry with you. And you most definitely cannot assume that she's dead. It's insulting to the twenty-seven suicide missions that she's been on as the Black Widow," Clint shoots her a surprised look "not that I'd know anything about it."

"Well what do you think I should do?" He asks unfolding his arms and throwing his hands up

"I think you should come and eat dinner," He gives her an exasperated look "then I think you should wait with us for Natasha to come back. I refuse to think that she won't. And don't assume she's mad at you, she probably needs time." She pauses in contemplation "Phil once told me that I had good instincts- said that it reminded him of his brother" Pepper gives Clint a pointed look "My gut tells me that she's alive. What about yours?" Clint's lips turn up in half a grimace and half a smile.

"She's not dead." He replies. They sit in silence for a few moments before he speaks up again, "You remind me of Phil." Pepper lifts an eyebrow "Before I really knew him I knew I could trust him. He was right most of the time too."

"Which means that if I tell you that you need food then I'm right," Pepper says laughingly "and you will be okay, Clint. No matter the outcome of this. You just have to trust the rest of us a little more." Pepper stands up and stumbles slightly "Now come on, the other guys are worried about you." Clint stands up slowly and brushes dust off of his pants

"Yes, Ma'am" He says with a fake salute "You might as well let me carry you back as compensation."

"There's no need for compensation," Pepper mumbles sleepily as Clint piggy-backs her back inside "we're family; we take care of our own." As she slips into sleep's embrace, Clint's voice drifts back to her.

"Thanks Mom"

Annnnd! This marks the end of Chapter Two! (I don't really like this, so I may come back and rewrite it, who knows?) The next chapter will be the lovely Ms. Natasha Romanoff!

Was Clint's little thing too long? Too short? I feel like if Clint was to tell anyone about his problems he'd be a little more to the point, but I don't think that translated to writing too well _

[INSERT A REQUEST FOR REVIEWS HERE]

=] and again, any corrections would be much appreciated!


	3. Natasha

_Hello There! Hope you enjoy._

_(Thank you Harm Marie, Guest, and Haytar96!)_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 

**Chapter Three: Natasha**

"Ms. Potts, Ms. Romanoff is in her room." Jarvis reports. Next to Pepper, Tony groans and rolls over and Tony is startled awake by a combination of the lack of warmth and a loud thump from Tony who is now on the floor. With all of the blankets.

"Jarvis," Tony moans "Why the hell would you wake us up at such an ungodly hour?"

"Ms. Potts asked me to notify her once Ms. Romanoff has returned home," Jarvis reports.

"What is she doing right now?" Pepper asks moving to the edge of the bed to offer her hand and a smile down at a pouting Tony who accepts her hand so he can pull himself to a sitting position.

"I believe she is on the phone with Mr. Barton," Pepper's eyes widen in surprise and Tony lands back on the ground with another thump. He complains from the pile of grey blankets that surround him but Pepper's already out the door.

"Jarvis, I know they're best friends," he whines to his best electronic friend "but I think Pepper loves Natasha more than me."

"Of course, Sir." The AI says sarcastically.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 

Natasha is exhausted. Not that anyone would know, because she's the _Black Widow_ and SHEILD is willing to make sure she recovers and set free without too many questions (not that a little threatening doesn't help expedite the process). She is curled on the edge of her king-sized bed in a man's T-shirt (_his_ shirt, her mind points out) and yoga shorts when her phone rings.

"Barton." She says when she picks up the phone.

"Romanoff." He replies, and she can almost hear him pouting "I thought we were past last-name basis now."

"Clint," she sighs his name into the phone impatiently and she can hear him mutter a breathless curse. Natasha's lips flick into a half-hearted smile despite herself.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Clint explains sheepishly "Fury called and asked me to keep an eye on you. Said you broke a rib and stuff. But Steve and I are kind of out as Banner's bodyguard so I thought I should call." A cold mask slides into place.

"Well I'm alive." She replies in a controlled voice while making a mental note to talk to Fury later.

"Yeah…" Clint's voice trails off and they are submerged into an uncomfortable silence "Look, Tasha-"

"It's fine if you want to take it back." Natasha says cutting him off. She looks down to see her hand clenching her grey comforter. Faintly she hears glass shattering and Steve shouting orders.

"Never." Clint says fiercely and Natasha bites her bottom lip "I meant it. I mean it" She hears feet pounding, guns firing and more shouting "And I hope I didn't ruin things between us." His bow lets out a twang. "And if you want to we can pretend it didn't happen." He's panting slightly into the phone now. "And I wish I chose a better moment to say it." The Hulk roars. "Look, Nat, I really have to go, we can talk about it later, but-" Steve angrily shouts Barton's name "-I love you, okay? Bye." The dial tone is pulses in her ear for a good twenty seconds before she hangs up in a daze. The sound of feet softly padding down the hall and a knock on the door (which indicates Pepper, because _none_ of the boys knock) snaps her to attention.

"Come in Pepper," She calls, voice weaker than normal. Pepper takes a few seconds to get the door opened and steps over a trip-wire and under a laser while keeping her grip on two cartons of ice-cream, spoons and a pillow. Pepper dumps her loot on the bed and Natasha's lips lift at the corners as she takes note of the Iron Man shirt that Pepper's wearing.

"Thought you'd like some company," Pepper says sitting down on the bed. Natasha turns so they are facing each other. "Got some vanilla ice-cream; your favorite." Natasha nods in agreement and Pepper grins triumphantly handing her a spoon and the carton while grabbing the carton of mint chocolate chip for herself. "How was the mission?" she asks while Natasha is prying her ice cream open.

"Classified" The assassin replies, the two stare at each other for a moment before they laugh, because they've had this conversation before and they've decided classified doesn't matter if one has a boyfriend that can and will hack anything. "It took a lot longer than I thought it would."

"Will you tell me about it? Clint told me it was a suicide mission." Pepper asks, lips thin with worry. Natasha shoots her an unhappy look.

"I've gone on many suicide missions before." She states. Pepper watches warily as Natasha proceeds to eat her ice cream, eyes cold.

"What made this one so different?" Pepper asks cautiously.

"The mission was to wipe out an assassin training facility," Natasha's eyes flash "that we already lost good agents to before. It was a highly protected building. Kill first, ask later. In a place that is very hard to survive in." She stabs her spoon viciously into her ice cream and Pepper winces "Almost died going in, was dying on the way out. Shield is very good at extractions."

"How did you get in?" Pepper's concern is written all over her face as she grabs Natasha's hand.

"I was distracted and they caught me." Red lips twist into a grimace "Can't say who was lucky, but I'm the only one alive." She holds her ice cream between her legs and twists her spoon deeper into the carton before ripping it out and repeating the process. Pepper releases her hand and puts an arm around the assassin.

"What got you distracted?" The question is met with a soft snort.

"He told me he loved me, Pepper." Natasha gives her a wry look that hides pain and anger "but you probably knew that." Pepper gives a murmur of assent "I can't love him back Pepper." The strawberry blonde holds the red-head at arm length, a hand on each shoulder, looking her dead in the eyes.

"But you do, Tasha." Pepper says gently "So what's stopping you? Don't tell me about the red on your ledger, because I know about it and Clint knows about it and we both know that he accepts it." She goes firmly "And even if you think love is for children, we all deserve a shot at happiness. You and Clint deserve happiness."

Natasha tears away from Pepper and is across the room in an instant, her snack spills across the bed and onto the floor. When she comes to a stop, her hands are covering her face and her breathing is labored.

"Pepper," she mumbles when she's composed herself, hands still covering her face "I can't make him happy." Pepper makes her way around the melted dessert and bent spoon heading towards her friend.

"Why not?" Pepper asks, genuinely confused. Natasha's blood shot eyes peer at her through her fingers and Pepper's taken aback, because even when Natasha told her about Red Room training and late night nightmares from real life, she never came close to crying.

"He wants a family." Natasha says hollowly "I'm sterile." The assassin hears Pepper gasp and takes a breath before continuing. "In the Red Room, they ordered another operative and I to get married. So we did. I was fourteen." Their eyes connect and Natasha's eyes are dull "I was young- stupid, and I fell in love with him. It was a test of course and year later, they told me he died. Then they found out I was pregnant." The seductive yet deadly laugh of the Black Widow reverberates around the room "They sent him to terminate the pregnancy. I only remember him with a knife and pain." Natasha sobs "They called it punishment."

Pepper reads the fear and insecurity in her friend's eyes wraps Natasha in her arms and lets Natasha cry into her shoulder. Natasha cries as she listens to her friend telling about how her partner spoke about her during their late-night dinner; how he spoke about her like she hung the moon and was the only person that has every caught his eye. When she shudders with an overwhelming feeling of unworthiness and fear, Pepper reminds her in a whisper of who she was before Clint had found her and how he accepted her then. As Pepper continues on in a hushed voice, the spy slowly drifts between wakefulness and slumber.

The next thing she hears is Tony entering her room and having a conversation in a low voice with his red-head about a guest room that is open. She's too exhausted to listen to the whole thing.

Tony's carrying her the next time she is mildly alert and she can hear Pepper walking far ahead of them. When she shifts her head to look blearily at him, his arms tighten around her.

"You're safe here." Tony says, voice rumbling deep in his chest. "We take care of our own."

Natasha is tucked into a bed as opposed to Tony's chest the next time she comes to. She notices a light on the ceiling and upon further examination, the source of light is Tony. He is sprawled on a futon to her left with his mouth wide open, snoring softly. The corners of her lips twitch and she turns to find Pepper slowly waking up on the right side of the bed.

"Hmm." Pepper's mumbles is almost drown out by snoring from Tony "S'early, go back to sleep." Pepper pats Natasha's hand.

"Okay," the tired spy says burrowing into the CEO's side "Thanks Mom."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Hey there! You've reached the end of Chapter THREE! Thank you for reading~_

_[INSERT A REQUEST FOR REVIEWS HERE]_

_Anyone have feedback on how Natasha was written? I'm not sure it's too believable… (how can I fix that?)_

_And it may be a while before I can update/finish this. College starts in a week and a day so, I will try my hardest- but no promises._


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